Novodevichy Convent

Novodevichy Convent is one of the best known monasteries in Moscow, proclaimed a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Founded by Grand Prince Vasili III in 1524, it was built as a fortress in commemoration of the conquest of Smolensk in 1514, became an important part of the southern defensive belt. Napoleon's army made an attempt to blow up the convent in 1812, but the convent was saved by the nuns. After being closed down by the Bolsheviks in 1922, transformed into a history and art museum in 1926, the convent went under the authority of the Metropolitan of Krutitsy and Kolomna in 1994.